"Barring a dramatic about-face, the Raptors will open next week's season opener against the New York Knicks with Jose Calderon at the point.

More than anything, what is required from Calderon is a dramatic change in form in the days leading up to next Wednesday's visit by New York when the games actually mean something.

The tedium of pre-season comes to its conclusion Friday, when the Raptors will play host to the gang from Gotham in Montreal.

Whether it's a subtle reminder of his role and his importance to the Raptors, whether it's taking a seat on the bench, which isn't likely to happen, Calderon has to undergo a change because the status quo cannot continue.

Against the visiting Chicago Bulls, a banged-up bunch that still fielded an explosive point guard in Derrick Rose, Calderon was casual, not engaged, leading the starting unit to yet another slow start against an opponent that's a shell of what it eventually will evolve into.

Something is definitely amiss with Calderon and it somehow must be corrected. How it gets remedied, what options exist, what possible repercussions await cannot be clarified.

This is a guy who is clearly caught up in the trade that wasn't a trade, when the Raptors and Bobcats reportedly had a deal that would have seen Calderon and Reggie Evans headed to Charlotte for Boris Diaw and Tyson Chandler.

From this vantage point, it's obvious the residue of that nixed deal has impacted Calderon, a good guy who has been exposed to the cruel business of basketball and who hasn't handled it properly.

In contrast, you have Evans, a slimmed-down version, but still a bruiser, crashing the glass, giving the Raptors extra possessions and playing each trip down the court as though it were his last."